Monday, November 2, 2009

Australia

It took 8 years, but we finally got away on a vacation WITHOUT THE KIDS!!!! Our friends watched the kids for a week while we lived it up down under. We didn't mess around on this trip, we wanted to pack in all we could....never thought an alarm clock would be used so much on a vacation but we're so glad we had all these experiences. First up, just 10 hours off the plane and we were up on the beautiful Tulley River doing some whitewater rafting. The pic is pretty small but we're there in front. Our guide took us on an "extreme" trip, meaning he'd flip us on purpose, take us over waterfalls etc...it was awesome. One thing we loved about all our guides, whether river rafting or horseback riding, is that they aren't afraid to take it up a notch. Our horse guide found out Shell's pretty experienced, and I kept my mouth shut, so she let us ditch the slow group and we ran the horses across the fields etc. Sore....yes, but adrenaline rush?......oh yeah.
Shell getting ready to ride.


The boomerang we purchased was made by this Aborigine. It works great!


At the same ranch as the horseback riding they also had 4-wheeling. Here Shell and our guide tear it up. He was crazy...taking us off cliffs and full throttle thru the trees......it was awesome.



We each had our own ATV so we never rode together, but it makes a nice pic.


At the ranch the animals are all friends. This pig and dog acted like 2 puppies...it was hilarious.


You can't do Australia without experiencing the Great Barrier Reef. It took 2 hours each way to get out there, but well worth it. James dove while Shell snorkeled, but both of us saw some great stuff. The boat, as you can see, did not disappoint.


Shell & the snorkelers..if you look closely can you see a shark fin in the background?............good, we didn't either.


Near our hotel there were several large mango trees with what we thought were loud birds residing...turns out they were huge bats! They were incredible to watch. Quite a sight after dark when they're all flying. For better pics, we took this about 1 hr before sunset so they're still sleeping. Some had mangos wrapped up in their wings.


One of the favourite parts of our trip....the food! Guam doesn't exactly have endless choices, so we felt like kids in a candy store with all the selection. Aussies know how to BBQ no doubt.


Our hotel rented out these tiny smart cars for a pretty good rate. We felt like clowns piling into a toy car but it took us where we wanted to go.....like to church and up the coast on Sunday.


Real men don't need hummers to prove they're bad..........but it sure wouldn't hurt...see that black cap near the back??? Yeah just throw a banana or a gum wrapper, or even just sneeze in it once a week and you're good! Actually we were surprised how much gas it still took. (sorry greenies!)


We see plenty of beaches at home but this still impressed. Beautiful coastline drive between Cairns and Port Douglas


The boardwalk near our hotel.


We wanted to get inland as well and this trip took us quite a ways into the mountains and the "tablelands" as they call it.

Tons of rainforests around Cairns.


Shell couldn't get enough of the roos.


More rainforest/waterfall


Cool trees in front of a hotel on the coast. And that was our vacation.
We also just published another post below this to update you on the kids, so keep on scrolling down.

Autumn / Halloween '09

As always, things don't cool down or slow down when autumn hits in Guam. The kids are busy back in school, but there's always time for extra-curriculars. A few weeks ago when Dad came home from deployment, the girls each got a Dad-daughter date. They were so excited...doing each other's hair, putting on makeup (scaled back by Mom for the final cut). Anyway here's the pics of that: Andie's date


Emma's date


The kids are always playing outside, and so we're bound to have conflicts with the local hornets here called "boonie bees". These things are AGGRESSIVE!!! Jordan & the girls have all been stung multiple times, but this one to Emma's eye takes the cake. We were thinking of taking her to the Eye Dr but we don't know any good ones so she just toughed it out....(she's all better now).
This year we simplified the pumpkin carving and each kid took a section of the same pumpkin. So the next 3 pics are the same pumpkin rotated with each "artist" pictured along side:


Jordan (he had a blast but I guess it's not cool to look excited)



Andie of course had to mix in some hearts




Emma was very proud of her Jill 0' lantern




FINALLY trick or treat time. Jordan & his friends love Lord of the Rings and decided to all be Nazguls. The girls of course wanted to be like big brother so they joined along too. No more fairies and princesses for this family!
First, a "hooded" pic.


In the same lineup. It was yet another hot, humid nite, so these thin robes were the way to go. You can always tell the new families to Guam cause they still have the "stateside" costumes (lions, wolves etc)....yeah that lasts about 3 houses before dehydration kicks in and the kid is walkin around in a t shirt and shorts.


Talisay branch also had some activities. Here Emma is carrying a spoonful of dogfood....don't ask.

And Andie went fishing for swedish gummy fish on a platter full of whip cream


Finally, our final Navy Ball. It's fun to dress up.....once a year.....and we wanted to be sure and catch this one as it will be our last one. For those who may not yet know. We will be wrapping up our commitment to the Navy and moving back home this coming summer. The Navy has been good to us and a great experience but we don't want to miss out on our kids growing up around family so Utah it is Summer 2010!

Navy Ball 2009

Our front yard during a full moon.

Until the next post.....